Best Geological Technician programs in Colorado, ranked by enrollment
Assist scientists or engineers in the use of electronic, sonic, or nuclear measuring instruments in laboratory, exploration, and production activities to obtain data indicating resources such as metallic ore, minerals, gas, coal, or.
17 schools in Colorado run programs that feed this job, graduating 252 people a year. The job pays a median of $61,780 in Colorado across about 90 jobs (BLS OEWS May 2025).
Fields of study in Colorado that lead to this job
Grouped at the 4-digit CIP level. Numbers are graduates per year in this state.
3 programs in Colorado that lead to this job
Ranked by graduates per year in Colorado (IPEDS completions). Graduate earnings and debt are national College Scorecard figures reported at the 4-digit CIP level, so specializations within one field share a figure. Each program also links to its own Colorado page.
| # | Program | Graduates / yr | Share of pipeline | Schools | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Median debt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | CIP 40.0601In Colorado → | 147 | 58.3% | 13 | $39,678 | $24,864 |
| 2 | CIP 41.9999In Colorado → | 102 | 40.5% | 5 | $49,936 | $22,636 |
| 3 | Petroleum Technology/Technicianmain feeder CIP 15.0903In Colorado → | 3 | 1.2% | 1 | $59,357 | $18,848 |
Top 17 schools in Colorado
Ranked by graduates per year into this job. Graduate earnings are reported for 3 of the 17 schools in this state.
| # | School | Graduates / yr | Top feeder program | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Grad rate | Net price | Acceptance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Trinidad State College Trinidad, CO Public · 1 feeder programs | 89 | Science Technologies/Technicians, Other | — | 55% | — | — |
| 2 | Colorado State University - Fort Collins Fort Collins, CO Public · 1 feeder programs | 40 | Geology/Earth Science, General | $41,158 | 67% | — | 89% |
| 3 | University of Colorado Boulder Boulder, CO Public · 1 feeder programs | 38 | Geology/Earth Science, General | $46,263 | 74% | — | 78% |
| 4 | Colorado School of Mines Golden, CO Public · 1 feeder programs | 14 | Geology/Earth Science, General | — | 82% | — | 61% |
| 5 | Colorado College Colorado Springs, CO Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 11 | Geology/Earth Science, General | — | 88% | $23,510 | 18% |
| 6 | University of Northern Colorado Greeley, CO Public · 1 feeder programs | 11 | Geology/Earth Science, General | $46,954 | 51% | — | 86% |
| 7 | Colorado Mesa University Grand Junction, CO Public · 1 feeder programs | 9 | Geology/Earth Science, General | — | 41% | — | 82% |
| 8 | Fort Lewis College Durango, CO Public · 1 feeder programs | 9 | Geology/Earth Science, General | — | 36% | — | 77% |
| 9 | Community College of Aurora Aurora, CO Public · 1 feeder programs | 8 | Science Technologies/Technicians, Other | — | 33% | — | — |
| 10 | Aims Community College Greeley, CO Public · 2 feeder programs | 6 | Petroleum Technology/Technician | — | 40% | — | — |
| 11 | Western Colorado University Gunnison, CO Public · 1 feeder programs | 5 | Geology/Earth Science, General | — | 50% | — | 100% |
| 12 | Adams State University Alamosa, CO Public · 1 feeder programs | 3 | Geology/Earth Science, General | — | 39% | — | — |
| 13 | Metropolitan State University of Denver Denver, CO Public · 1 feeder programs | 3 | Geology/Earth Science, General | — | 32% | — | 99% |
| 14 | Community College of Denver Denver, CO Public · 2 feeder programs | 2 | Geology/Earth Science, General | — | 20% | — | — |
| 15 | Front Range Community College Westminster, CO Public · 1 feeder programs | 2 | Geology/Earth Science, General | — | 35% | — | — |
| 16 | Lamar Community College Lamar, CO Public · 1 feeder programs | 1 | Science Technologies/Technicians, Other | — | 55% | — | — |
| 17 | Red Rocks Community College Lakewood, CO Public · 1 feeder programs | 1 | Geology/Earth Science, General | — | 32% | — | — |
All 17 schools in Colorado
Every school in Colorado with a program that feeds this job, ordered by graduates per year. Earnings are shown for the ranked schools above; open a school profile for the rest.
| School | City | Control | Graduates / yr | Feeder programs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Trinidad State College | Trinidad | Public | 89 | 1 |
| Colorado State University - Fort Collins | Fort Collins | Public | 40 | 1 |
| University of Colorado Boulder | Boulder | Public | 38 | 1 |
| Colorado School of Mines | Golden | Public | 14 | 1 |
| Colorado College | Colorado Springs | Private not-for-profit | 11 | 1 |
| University of Northern Colorado | Greeley | Public | 11 | 1 |
| Colorado Mesa University | Grand Junction | Public | 9 | 1 |
| Fort Lewis College | Durango | Public | 9 | 1 |
| Community College of Aurora | Aurora | Public | 8 | 1 |
| Aims Community College | Greeley | Public | 6 | 2 |
| Western Colorado University | Gunnison | Public | 5 | 1 |
| Adams State University | Alamosa | Public | 3 | 1 |
| Metropolitan State University of Denver | Denver | Public | 3 | 1 |
| Community College of Denver | Denver | Public | 2 | 2 |
| Front Range Community College | Westminster | Public | 2 | 1 |
What geological technicians earn in Colorado
What people already working in this job earn (BLS OEWS May 2025). Not graduate earnings.
U.S. median $53,350. Colorado pays above the national figure.
1.00× means the state has its expected share of these jobs.
Metro areas in Colorado
Job outlook
Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections, 2024 to 2034.
Growth and openings are national. The Bureau of Labor Statistics does not publish employment projections at state level, so these figures describe the occupation across the whole U.S., not this state alone.
How to get in
The full skills, tools, and day-to-day breakdown lives on the national Geological Technicians page.
How to become a Geological Technician
Job zone 4 of 5 · SVP 7.0 to < 8.0- Typical entry education
- Associate's degree
- On-the-job training
- Moderate-term on-the-job training
Most of these occupations require a four-year bachelor's degree, but some do not.
A considerable amount of work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is needed for these occupations. For example, an accountant must complete four years of college and work for several years in accounting to be considered qualified.
Employees in these occupations usually need several years of work-related experience, on-the-job training, and/or vocational training.
Top skills
The same job in other states
Where else this occupation employs the most people, and what it pays there.
Related careers in Colorado
Every major mapped to this job
The official federal mapping behind the rankings above.
All 8 majors mapped to Geological Technicians7 of them graduated someone in the latest IPEDS year. NCES CIP 2020 → SOC 2018 crosswalk.+
- 15.0901Mining Technology/Technician
- 15.0903Petroleum Technology/Technician
- 15.0999Mining and Petroleum Technologies/Technicians, Other(no graduates reported)
- 40.0601Geology/Earth Science, General
- 41.0000Science Technologies/Technicians, General
- 41.0303Chemical Process Technology
- 41.0399Physical Science Technologies/Technicians, Other
- 41.9999Science Technologies/Technicians, Other
Common questions
Answers for people weighing geological technicians programs in Colorado.
What degree do you need to become a Geological Technician?+
Associate's degree is the typical entry-level education BLS reports for this occupation. The most common program people actually graduate from is Geology/Earth Science, General, which awarded 147 degrees in Colorado in 2024-25, 58.3% of everyone graduating from a program that feeds this career.
Which college majors lead to becoming a Geological Technician?+
The NCES CIP-to-SOC crosswalk maps 3 programs to this occupation. The largest are Geological and Earth Sciences/Geosciences, Science Technologies/Technicians, Mining and Petroleum Technologies/Technicians. Together they graduate about 252 people a year in Colorado.
How much do geological technicians earn in Colorado?+
The median is $61,780 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). That is 15.8% above the U.S. median of $53,350. This is pay for people already working in the occupation, not the same thing as graduate earnings one year after finishing a degree.
Is demand for geological technicians growing?+
BLS projects a +1.5% change in employment between 2024 and 2034, little or no change, with roughly 1,300 openings a year nationally once retirements and job changes are counted.
How many schools offer programs for this career in Colorado?+
17 institutions in Colorado reported graduates from at least one of the 3 programs that feed this occupation in IPEDS 2024-25. Rankings on this page use graduates per year, because the federal data publishes no enrollment count by program.
What other job titles do geological technicians work under?+
Employers advertise this work under many names. O*NET records Geotechnician, Materials Technician, Geological Technician, Physical Science Technician among the most commonly reported, all mapping to SOC 19-4043.
About the data on this page
Rankings use IPEDS completions 2024–25, degrees awarded per year. That is the closest federal measure of how many people a program puts into a career, because no federal dataset publishes enrollment by program. Wages and employment come from BLS OEWS May 2025, growth and openings from BLS Employment Projections 2024-34, and which majors lead to which jobs from the NCES CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk. Occupation descriptions, tasks, skills and tools are O*NET 30.3 (CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor/ETA).
BLS Occupational Employment & Wage Statistics
May 2025Wages, employment counts, location quotients and metro breakdowns.
BLS Employment Projections
2024–34Projected growth, annual openings and typical entry-level education.
IPEDS Completions
2024-25 (provisional)Graduates per year by program and institution — the ranking metric.
College Scorecard, Field of Study
2020-21 cohortsMedian graduate earnings one year after completion, and median debt.
Census Post-Secondary Employment Outcomes
latest availableGraduate earnings 1/5/10 years out, where the state participates.
NCES CIP 2020 and the CIP-to-SOC 2018 crosswalk
CIP 2020 / SOC 2018Which college programs officially lead to this occupation.
O*NET Database 30.3
30.3Tasks, skills, knowledge, tools, job zone and alternate job titles.
Official source →CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor / ETA
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